Freedom Divers ISAW Review

We could easily start off by saying how great this action cam is and how much we are in love with it. Let’s just specify what has made a huge difference to us (this cam has been used to shoot time-lapse’s slow-mo, underwater, low-light, motorbike, thai boxing). First off, the two hour battery life is a God send! GoPro also has a longer life battery but suffers from a real design flaw when this is installed (see below under NEED TO KNOW).

Though there is currently no red filter available (yet… we have one coming, so watch this space…), the iSaw’s unique “AquaMode” makes shooting underwater a breeze. Some have suggested it is the equivalent of a modern compact camera’s “Underwater” function. This is rubbish: whereas “Underwater” modes just tend to give everything a blue hue, the “AquaMode”, does a close to perfect job of keeping real colours- up to 17m (then it’s time for the lights)- without any loss.

How many GoPro users/owners have turned the camera around to face themselves during scuba, sky diving, motocross, etc? The 3 LED lights tacttically positioned around the device make filming yourself and anything in ANY very easy- as opposed to GoPro’s single frontal LED. When you put the LED’s to full use, it’s impossible to work without them!

NEED TO KNOW facts Some important facts that set apart the iSaw from the GoPro- facts you may have never thought about or have bothered you. They say ignorance is bliss, and that couldn’t be truer than in this case:

GoPro is actually built with a serious design flaw: So easy to miss, but one which really highlights the difference between the hardwares and the attention to detail they have been subject to. GoPro’s LCD BacPac looks fantastic given it’s size but, when the BacPac is attached, the longer life battery (providing 2 hours, instead of just 50 mins) cannot be attached!?! With the iSaw, the larger battery fits into the device from the side, while the BacPac sits where it should on the back. I’m sure many will now say that GoPro’s LCD screen is superior- can’t argue that. But let’s remember that iSaw not delivers superior final results, it’s LCD screen is included FREE!!As are many, many of it’s accessories, check the Comparison Chart at bottom of page.

Don’t worry about accessories: ALL GoPro’s accessories are compatible with iSaw (yet comically, iSaw’s are NOT compatible with GoPro!). Even better, many of the must-have accessories for these devices, upon purchase, are FREE with iSaw, whereas with GoPro, get ready to fork out more hard-earned money. How “must-buy” are they really? I challenge you to shoot using the GoPro with no LCD screen, with only 50 minutes battery (both the long life battery & LCD-to name just a few- are paid extras).

Special features: A lot was made of GoPro’s Timelapse brilliance. For those who don’t know, GoPro uses a special program (Twixtor) to create it’s Timelapse effect- and this is only with photos remember! iSaw creates video Timelapses on the spot, with just a push of a button. Pick your scene, click Timelapse button, leave your camera for a given amount of time to film continuously, upload it, and that’s it! The timelapse is all ready. The exact same can be said for the slow motion function- one button click away, no post-production retired. And just look at the results it delivers:

the “4k argument”: GoPro beats iSaw in one main area: 4k. I’m guessing right now, many are wondering “what’s 4k?, i don’t need to know about that”. To simplify all the tech-talk 4k is essentially the “New HD”. Full HD is 1080 pixels displayed horizontally and vertically across your screen repeatedly within a certain time frame. 4k will increase this to 4000 pixels. All those amazing graphics on your PS3/XBox, or in movies like Avatar look so amazing because they are displayed in HD (1080p). GoPro actually has the ability to shoot in 4k. So all GoPro owners are now jumping coz they’ve just won this mini hardware war, right? Nope… Sorry to disappoint, there is no hardware available for the general consumer that can display 4k (until this christmas when the first will be released, no doubt for an extortionate fee). So it’s like, I have 4k, but nothing to show off it’s beauty. And, by the time 4k becomes “consumer friendly”, we will probably have reached the GoPro Hero10 model, and something tells me that iSaw will also be delivering 4k by then. So great you have 4k, please do show me how great it is, oh wait… Doh!

the wifi remote: another point GoPro owners are keen to point out to iSaw admirers, is the “lack” of a wifi remote. The current wifi remote is a “cool toy” at best. No one uses this when actively scuba diving, sky diving, motocross, skying, etc. And another FYI, there’s an iPhone app available which is far more responsive than the actual wifi remote. So the whole, “But mine has a wifi remote!” argument is not really something to brag about. In fact, why not download the app by clicking below

CONCLUSION
The iSaw is cheaper (especially when you factor in the extras one is “encouraged” to purchase to get full functionality of the GoPro); the iSaw delivers better quality; the unique functions such as Time-lapse & Slow-mo (and zoom!?! can’t blieve GoPro missed that??) are in-built into the camera as standard, activated with just a push of a button; GoPro users will argue that they have 4K (currently useless), a wifi remote (laggy- app is better), and are smaller (wrong, look at the above photos). What GoPro does have is a name, and a very recognised one. But all other factors would suggest you buy the more modern, more user friendly just (for lack of a better sentence)…Better piece of hardware! Remember, anything goes wrong, it’s a direct swap with another unit as mentioned above! If you’re still not convinced then just refer to the chart below. Bottom line: do yourself a favour and get an iSaw A3 Extreme HD!